Celebrating Cybersecurity Awareness: SUNY's Progress and the Path to Inclusion

Hello all,

October is (among other designations) Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
Anyone working with technology in SUNY and at home is aware of how important cybersecurity is. And I'll bet that some of our campuses have educational awareness champions planned- if yours does - please let us all know so we can learn from each other.

This week I'd like to celebrate and thank all the folks working to improve our security and safety online. There is no way we could do the work of educating and helping students in this current educational environment without your efforts!

Cyber is also an area where SUNY is definitely shining! We have coordinated support available through the SUNY SOC, we have access to secure storage and support solutions at SUNY ITEC, we have careful attention to security standards in SUNY purchasing and contracts, and most campuses have infosec breach insurance of some kind. We have come a long way in the past few years!

And, SUNY offers many degree programs in computer security and cybersecurity, at multiple degree levels and certificates, and in several different modalities, including of course- my own university SUNY Plattsburgh. If you know of anyone interested in this field- advise them to look into SUNY.

Nonetheless, we still have progress to make on including the full range of perspectives and ideas into cybersecurity fields. International data below from the International Information System Security Certification Consortium, Inc. (ISC2) which was published in March 2025, shows that women-identifying folks are still underrepresented in the field, and that means we are missing out on a whole range of ideas that we could use.

"According to all respondents to the study, women account for 22% of security teams on average. This finding is supported by a variety of industry studies, including data from LinkedIn that was gathered at the same time as the ISC2 study, suggesting that across 14 countries surveyed, the percentage of women working in cybersecurity ranges from a high of 26.7% in Italy to a low of 14.6% in Germany. The U.S. stands at 18.3%, Canada at 21.2% and the U.K. at 17.9%, according to the LinkedIn data. This is comparable to the ISC2 findings, with women accounting for 19.2% in the U.S. and 21.6% in Canada. Meanwhile, the Global Cybersecurity Forum’s 2024 Cybersecurity Workforce Report noted that women account for only 24% of the workforce, also a similar finding to the ISC2 data."

Twenty-two percent (22%) is not nearly enough! You can learn more about ways to grow this number at The WiCyS organization website. "WiCyS is a global nonprofit community dedicated to recruiting, retaining and advancing women in cybersecurity through mentorship, technical training, professional development, thought leadership, networking and career opportunities." And best of all, they support college student chapters.

So, happy Cybersecurity Awareness Month!
All the best,
Holly